Crop Conditions Continue to Decline

Late-season rains and somewhat cooler temperatures have not been enough to turn the average corn and soybean crop condition around. USDA’s August 20 Crop Progress report announced 68 percent of the U.S. corn crop in good-to-excellent condition, down 2 percentage points from the prior week. The good-to-excellent ratings are still above the prior year’s level of 62 percent and the same as the five-year average. Analysts expected a slight decline in good-to-excellent ratings for corn due to the dry conditions experienced in the Midwest over the last week.

The percent of the crops in poor-to-very-poor condition has increased to 12 percent, up 2 percentage points from last week’s 10 percent. However, while overall crop conditions have deteriorated slightly, 20 percent of the corn crop remains in excellent condition, holding over from last week. Figure 1 details the state-by-state percent of corn acres in good-to-excellent condition.

For the week ending August 19, USDA estimates that 65 percent of the soybean crop is in good-to-excellent condition, down 1 percentage point from last week and up 5 percentage points from last year. Unlike corn crop conditions, analysts expected soybean conditions to remain at 66 percent. Current conditions are in line with the five-year average of 65 percent good-to-excellent. The percent of the soybean crop in poor or very poor condition rose 1 percentage point over the last week, and now stands at 11 percent. Figure 2 illustrates state-by-state the percentage of soybean acres in good-to-excellent condition.